343 defends changes to past enemies in Halo 4

In this week's Halo bulletin, 343 Industries released a look at one of the enemies you will encounter in Halo 4. The new, "Meet Your Halo 4 Enemies", takes a look at the Unggoy, a "low-ranking species in the Covenant hierarchy".

The Unggoy, or Grunts as they are often referred to by humans, are "bipedal vertebrates with spotty exoskeletons (some spottier than others depending on the game), appendages and movement typical of primates, and quite simple (yet often dull) eyes."

If it sounds familiar, that's because it is; the Grunts were seen and fought in previous Halo games, but in Halo 4 your encounters will be different

343 wasn't ready to fully reveal the enemy, but they did hint that there are certain species on Earth which "exhibit extraordinary differences within their kind (Great Dane vs. Pomeranian) and that there are vastly numerous species similar enough to categorically lump them together (look up Plover)."

Of course, 343 noted the difficulty and challenge in crafting a species that challenges the hardcore fans' beliefs of Halo's massive universe.

"The game is evolving," 343 defended. "We’re not recategorizing a species, upsetting an apple cart, or changing the canon. We’re doing what we always do. We’re layering detail, evolving the art, pushing the universe onwards and outwards. We’re making change for holistic reasons, never for change’s sake."

They added: "The bottom line, however, is that the last ten years have only been a keyhole into the enormous canyon that is the Halo Universe and there is so much more out there than we could ever fit in those boxes, as well-intended and finely-crafted as they might be. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface."

"So the next time you see an enemy that looks a little different or a weapon/vehicle that doesn’t match its predecessors verbatim, or even a backstory that doesn’t appear to be the “whole story”, understand that the Halo Universe is big enough to hold all of them safely and securely together, and will do so with a smile on its face," they explained. "And whenever you doubt that, just take the incredible variability you find in our contemporary world and multiply it by a thousand. Then you’ll get a hint of just how big a 26th century, galaxy-spanning Halo story is to us."

"We’re hoping that in the coming months and years, you’ll get to see just how big that really is."